Costco blames holiday for same store sales drop

After reporting standout results for the holiday quarter, Costco had a drop in same store sales in March that the retailer blamed on the earlier-than-normal Easter holiday.

Costco said its comparable sales, which include sales from stores open more than a year, fell 2% in the five weeks ended April 5, missing analysts’ expectation for a 1.2% drop. The warehouse club had net sales of $10.40 billion for the month of March, the five weeks ended April 5, which compares to $10.43 billion during the similar period last year. This year's total reflects one less sales day than last year, due to the timing of Easter. This calendar shift negatively impacted this year's net and same store sales by an estimated one to one and one-half percent, the company said.

For the thirty-one weeks ended April 5, the company reported net sales of $67.58 billion, an increase of five percent from $64.65 billion during the similar period last year.

Costco currently operates 672 warehouses, including 474 in the United States and Puerto Rico, 89 in Canada, 34 in Mexico, 26 in the United Kingdom, 20 in Japan, 11 in Korea, 10 in Taiwan, seven in Australia and one in Spain. The Company plans to open up to an additional 16 new warehouses (including one relocation to a larger and better-located facility) prior to the end of its fiscal year on Aug. 30.